On Monday 22 April, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, Secretary for the
Relations with States of the Secretariate of State, gave a magisterial
lecture on the theme, "The Presence of the Holy See in the
International Organizations" at the Catholic University of the
Sacred Heart in Milan. Drawing on history and canon law, he explains
what the Holy See is and why it is a moral person recognized by
international law. Here is a translation of his Italian text.

Dag Hammarskjold, who was a Secretary General of the UN, said, "When
I ask for an audience at the Vatican, I am not going to see the King of
Vatican City, but the Head of the Catholic Church" (H. De
Riedmatten, Presence du Saint-Siege dans les Organisations
Internationales: Concilium 58, 1970, p. 74).

A Secretary General of the UN, Vatican City, the Pope, the Catholic
Church: all show the complexity of the topic we wish to treat and
reminds us that the Catholic Church is the only religious institution in
the world to have access to diplomatic relations and to be very
interested in international law.

She owes this to her universal and transnational organization.

She owes it to her Head, who, from the moment of his election in the
conclave, assumes an international character.

Above all, she owes it to her history, as I shall try to show in this
lecture.

The Holy See

In effect, it is important to make clear at once that the subject who
enters into contact with the leading figures in international life is
not the Catholic Church as a community of believers, nor the State of
Vatican City—a miniscule
support-State that guarantees the spiritual freedom of the Pope with the
minimum territory—but the Holy
See, namely, the Pope and the Roman Curia, universal and spiritual
authority, unique centre of communion; a sovereign subject of
international law, of a religious and moral nature.

According to canon 361 of the Code of Canon Law, by the name of
"Holy See" one understands "not only the Roman Pontiff
but also the Secretariate of State, the Council for the Public Affairsof the Church and other institutions of the Roman Curia".
The Curia is the central administration of the Church, since, according
to canon 360 the Pope "usually conducts the business of the
universal Church by means of the Roman Curia" and it performs
its function in his name and with his authority, for the benefit and
service of the Churches.

Canon 113 § 1 makes clear that "the Catholic Church and the
Apostolic See have the nature of a moral person by divine law
itself". That means that the Holy See, as an institution placed at
the service of the ministry of communion entrusted by Christ to Peter,
will endure, even if it were to be reduced to its simplest expression in
the person of the Pope and even to the end of time. This theological and
canonical definition is corroborated by its historical and juridical
condition: the place of the Holy See on the international scene is
justified to the extent to which it is the supreme authority of the
Catholic Church that, in turn, by means of the Holy See, is in
possession of true international status.

History of the international relations of the Holy See

As I said, it is interesting to discover historically that it is in
an ecclesial context that we find the beginning of the relations between
the Holy See and the international community: with the celebration of
the Ecumenical Councils. Therefore, long before the Popes had at
their disposal true temporal power! In fact, the person of the Apostolic
Nuncio, in the modern sense of the term, namely, Ambassador of the Pope,
invested with an ecclesial mission (to the local Church) and a
diplomatic mission (accredited with the government) already existed in
453, at the end of the Council of Chalcedon. In fact, once the Council
was concluded, Pope St Leo the Great asked his Legate, Julian of Cos,
who had followed the work of the Council, to stay there to apply the
decisions of the assembly. To this end, he provided him with two Letters
of Credence: one to accredit him with the local hierarchy, represented
by the Patriarch Marcion, and one for the Emperor of Constantinople,
Theodosius.

Later on the figure of the Apocrisarius will appear, and
toward the end of the ninth century, the Legates (legati nati),
whom Rome will send to the different nations and who will enjoy greater
room to manoeuvre with the local civil authorities of the place than the
local resident clerics.

Nunciatures

In the 16th century, international life underwent an important
change: the Nation-State emerged and acquired a well defined
personality. This State did not hesitate to attack neighbouring States
with ever greater violence. Diplomacy had to adapt to this new
reality, in place of the secret agent, there was now the informer
agent who made himself known and who tried to gain the confidence of his
dialogue partners. The princes adopted the formula that the Republic of
Venice refined with its credit institutes and its commercial agencies.
One finds the diplomatic representatives arriving with great pomp, with
their residences and chancery. The Popes immediately adapted to the new
situation also inspired by the Venetian model. This explains the
appearance of the first ApostolicNunciatures withat
their head an Archbishop sent from Rome: in 1500 in Venice and Paris; in
1513 in Vienna. One must laud the intuition of PopeClement XI,
when in 1701 he established the Academy of NobleEcclesiastics
forthe purpose of forming clerics for the mission of being
pontifical representatives. For three centuries, it has been located in
the Severoli Palace in Piazza della Minerva.

The reports that come from the Nunciatures, contrary to what
some suppose only deal with religious questions.Since the
Reformation, the pontifical representativesdealtwith the
spiritual interests of the Church in the framework of the Catholic
Reformation begun by the Council of Trent in 1545. They oversaw the
respect for and the application of the canonical norms. Often, they
defended the freedom of the Church against the claims of the princes.
Papal diplomacy was always a technical instrument that the Popes made
use of to guarantee, and, if necessary, to defend the rights of the
local Churches. This did not prevent the Holy See from participating in
the peace treaties, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries:
Münster, Osnabrück, the Peace of the Pyrenees, the Treaties of Aix-La-Chapelle,
the Treaties of Utrecht, of Radstatt, or even to organize the resistance
to the Turks.

The Congress of Vienna

If afterthe Treaty of Westphalia and especially in the course
of the 18th century, pontifical diplomacy had a lower profile because of
the recurrent invasions of the Papal States, the Congress of Vienna
of 1815restored all its prestige.It is interesting
to note that the personal recognition granted to the Pope (who in this
period was still a temporal sovereign) was prompted by the fact that he
was first and foremost the Spiritual Head of the Catholic Church, as
Talleyrand pointed out when he presented a motion to the editorial
committee of the congress which was, moreover, approved without the
slightest difficulty: "with regard to the religious princes and
the Catholic powers (Austria, France, Spain and Portugal),nothing
about the Popeshould be changed" (it concerned
the papal representative's right of precedence). It is clear from this
rapid historical retrospective that what the international community had
taken into consideration was the papacy as a moral power sui generis!

This is confirmed by the events that followed: between 1870and
1929 (the year of the creation of Vatican City State), when the
Popes were to be stripped of all temporal power, they continued to
exercise the active and passive rightsoflegation.
As Jean Gaudemet wrote: "the fact was the proof".

Holy See has relations with 172 nations

Since the late Middle Ages, no one has contested the international
legitimacy ofthe Holy See;neither the Soviets
in the recent past, nor the Chinese today. There is no doubt about the
Holy See's full belonging to the international community. A single
statistic is enough: in 1978, when Pope John Paul II was elected Supreme
Pontiff, the Holy See had diplomatic relations with 84 countries; today,
this number has risen to 172.

The Holy See, which enjoys international juridical status, is thus
presented asa sovereignand independent moral
authority—andas such
takes part in international relations. Within nations its action as a
moral authority, aims at furthering an ethic of relations between the
different protagonists of the international community. It is carried out
through two channels:

—

bilateral diplomacy (that is, relations with the 172
countries just mentioned; thesigning of Concordats, treaties
that are in solemn form or accords on specific subjects);

—

multilateral diplomacy (that is, relations with
governmental organizations, essentially the United Nations and its
agencies, the Council of Europe, the European Communities, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE], the
Organization of American States and the Organization for African Unity).

Before describing these activities, I would like to begin with an
observation that is frequently overlooked: The principal agent of
papal diplomatic action is the Pope himself.With his
pastoral ministry, his words, his travels, his meetings—that
involve the earth's peoples andthose who govern them—he
can inspire political leaders, give an orientation to a great many
social initiatives and, at times, contest systems or ideas that corrode
the dignity of the person and thus threaten world peace.

However, the Holy See's daily action on theinternational
scene is obviously developed through diplomatic law and international
law and the classical instruments resulting from them.

1. Bilateral Diplomacy

The Holy See maintains daily relations with the individual countries
through its Apostolic Nuncios and the Ambassadors accredited to it. All
these meetings are opportunities to recall certain priorities, or
rather, certain principles, without which there is no civilization:

—

the priority of the human person, of
his dignity and rights: the right to life in all the stages of its
development; the right to work, and to the just share of the profits
earned; a right to culture; a right to freedom of thought; a right to
freedom of conscience and of religion. All this is not because these
rights originate with the State, but because they are universal and
inherent in the human person. This insistence on the human person
enables the diplomats of the Holy See to explain to their partners in
dialogue that the human person must always be the focus and goal of all
political activity.

—

the promotion, and if necessary, the defence of peace:the rejection of war as a way of solving disputes between States;
concrete initiatives to reach effective disarmament. It is worth
remembering that the Holy See signed and ratified treaties on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1971) and on banning the use of
anti-personnel landmines in Ottawa (1997), and the convention
prohibiting the use of chemical weapons (1999). All this was to support
with moral authority those dedicated to fostering "a culture of
peace", whose herald the Church is honoured to be. This also
explains the Holy See's interest in the Middle-East peace process, the
Papal mediation in solving the controversy that flared up between
Argentina and Chile in the southern region, and, finally, the word of
John Paul II at the time of the Gulf War in 1991: "War: an
adventure with no return!". The Holy See has always sought on
all occasions to encourage all parties to give priority to dialogue and
negotiation, the only instruments worthy of man that can solve the
inevitable conflicts between people and nations;

—

support to all institutions that foster democracy as
the basis of political and social life: everyone knows the dedication
with which the Holy See works for the development of democracy in the
societies of Central and Eastern Europe. We are also thinking of all the
Pope has said and done for Cuba. The Holy See recalls that democracy
guarantees the participation of citizens in political decisions and
permits governments to be sanctioned by citizens: they cannot say or do
just anything.... Democracy means participation and co-responsibility.
The Pope has often repeated that for democracy to be fruitful, it must
be supported by human values. "Authentic democracy is possible
only in a State ruledby law, and on the basis of a
correctconception of the human person ... if there is no
ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity, then ideas and
convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. As history
demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or
thinly disguised totalitarianism" (Centesimus annus, n. 46).

—

the establishment of an international order that is
founded on justice and rights.Food, health, culture and
solidarity are necessary conditions for citizens to participate with
responsibility and conviction in a plan for society that guarantees an
equal opportunity to each one. The Holy See has always expressed its
esteem for international law. Never before today have we had in our
hands so complete and refined a juridical patrimony that is the result
of so many tragic human experiences. I am thinking, for example, of the
founding texts and resolutions of the United Nations, the Council of
Europe and the OSCE. I also want to mention new concepts that have
fortunately entered into international law today, such as the duty of
humanitarian intervention, and the formulation of the rights of
minorities. The Holy See is of the opinion that if the law had been
applied to all of them, a great many past and present crises would have
been avoided.

As can be noted, the Popes and their collaborators, playing their
role on the international stage, are guided by convictions that can
easily be listed:

—

armed violence will never solve conflicts between human
persons or groups; violence—as all
can see—only breeds violence;

—

if a race, a religion, or a political party is idealized or
"sacralized", before long the logic of the tribe or the law of
the strongest begins to prevail;

—

a person cannot affirm and defend his own legitimate rights
while trampling upon those of bethren of equal dignity;

—

Men and women are all members of the same family; no nation
can guarantee its own security and well-being by isolating itself from
the others.

The Holy See will always seek to bring together the forces of
goodwill, so that on every occasion the law may be applied to prevent
the weak from becoming victims of the bad will, violence or manipulation
by the strongest. It is absolutely necessary that the force of law
prevail over the law of force! I say so with deep conviction in these
days when once again contempt for life and armed violence are leading an
entire region—and undoubtedly more
than that region—towards the
abyss. Allthis requires a vision of man that takes into account
all his dimensions: respect for human life from conception until natural
death; the dignity of the human being and his freedom. Allthese
values obviously belong to the Magisterium of the Church, which the Holy
See tries to promote in the world of international affairs.

2. Multilateral Diplomacy

The Holy See's action has even broader scope in multilateral
diplomacy: The United Nations is always a privileged "stage"
(a modern areopagus... ), from which to say so many things that later
reach the whole planet!

To demonstrate to everyone that the Holy See is not a temporal power
with political goals but, as I said above, a moral authority, it is
enough to recall that it is not a member of the UN (and therefore is not
entitled to vote); it merely enjoys "observer" status, which
permits it to remain above the parties, but with the right to speak. It
could be said that it has a uniquely "prophetic" role in the
biblical sense of the term. The white silhouettes of Paul VI and John
Paul II on the dais at the Manhattan headquarters have always been
strong and meaningful images!

But what does the Holy See say to the 189 member countries of the
United Nations?

—

All nations are equal: none are great or
small. Allhave equal dignity. Each has the right to safeguard
and defend its own independence or cultural identity and to conduct its
own affairs in autonomy and independence.

—

But these same nations are equally solidary.
The Pope frequently uses the expression "family of nations".
There is also an "international common good".

—

In this context, war must always be rejected and
priority given to negotiationand the
use of juridical instruments.

Thus the activity of the Holy See has often helped to create a
climate of greater trust between international partners, and made it
easier to plead for the introduction of a new philosophy of
international relations that must lead to:

—

a gradual decrease in military expenditure;

—

effective disarmament;

—

respect for cultures and religious traditions;

—

solidarity with the poorer countries, helping them to be
the architects of their own development.

Recently, a new field of action has arisen for the Holy See: the
defence of life and of the family at the international
multilateral level: the occasion was provided by the recent world
conferences organized by the UN. "Population and Development"
(Cairo, 1994); World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen 1995);
The Fourth World Conference on Women, (Beijing, 1995). The international
community found itself facing delegations from certain Western countries
who wished to impose models of life that were actually the result of the
propaganda of certain minorities within their societies; gender
differences were really determined by social stereotypes: various models
of the family were mentioned; motherhood seemed to be equated to a
disease ... to quote but a few of the new ideas in vogue. With
determination, we recalled that the family is made up of a man and a
woman, who are indissolubly bound to one another; that there is human
nature and universal rights that are present and guaranteed in the
important texts and conventions that regulate the life of the
international community. Obviously it cannot come as a surprise to
anyone that the Holy See insisted on the responsibility of the human
being and his freedom with regard to models of life which some wanted to
impose on everyone: it insisted because it is a matter of basic conceptsthat are found in all the most important documents which regulate
international life and have obtained the unanimous acceptance of States
in recent years. It will always be the duty of the Holy See to prevent
the lowering of personal and social moral standards and to contribute to
raising them.

It is time to conclude. I hope I have been sufficiently convincing in
my endeavour to show that the Holy See is at the service of people and
nations, to help them walk together on the paths of life and hope. On 9
January 1995, in his address to the Diplomatic Corps which came to offer
him good wishes for the New Year, the Holy Father pointed out, and I
quote him, that "the reason why the Holy See has a place in the
midst of the community of nations [is] to be the voice
which the human conscience is waiting for, without
thereby minimizing the contribution of other religious traditions (ORE,
11January 1995, p. 7).

This service to the conscience is also the only ambition of papal
diplomats who with their presence, their action and by means of
diplomacy, seek to convince those responsible for society that violence,
fear, evil, hostility and death can never have the last word. Those who
have some knowledge of Christianity will not be surprised: Christians,
in fact, do not believe in the fatality of history. They know that with
God's help, man can change the way the world is going.

Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
22 May 2002, page 8

L'Osservatore Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See.
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